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June 8, 2021

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS

Vol. L No. 12

The House met at 1:30 p.m.

SPEAKER (Bennett):

Are the House Leaders ready?

Admit strangers.

Order, please!

Statements by Members

SPEAKER:

Today, we will hear statements by the hon. Members for the Districts of Mount

Pearl North, Grand Falls-Windsor - Buchans, Lake Melville, Exploits and Cape St.

Francis.

The hon. the Member for Mount Pearl - North.

Sorry, the hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Windsor -

Buchans.

TIBBS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I sit in this hon. House today to

recognize a very close friend of mine who exemplifies how important immigration

is to our province. Jibin Jose grew up in Kerala, India prior to moving to

Canada in 2011.

In India, Jibin studied nursing and today works in the

emergency room at the Central Newfoundland Regional Health Centre in Grand

Falls-Windsor. The skills and dedication he brings to his job each and every day

are most welcome by both his colleagues and his patients.

Proud residents of Grand Falls-Windsor, Jibin, his wife

and their four-year-old son, now call Newfoundland and Labrador home. When he is

not working, Jibin enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with his family, as

well as being very active throughout our community.

When asked what he loves most about Newfoundland and

Labrador, Jibin simply replies: I love how friendly this province is and how

welcoming people truly are, that's what makes it my home away from home.

Though he misses his family and friends back in India,

we are so fortunate to have skilled people like Jibin and so many others like

him.

Thank you for calling Newfoundland and Labrador your

home, my friend. We are definitely open for business.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

apologies to the Member for Mount Pearl - North.

STOYLES:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I think you were looking for my opponent over on the

opposite side, but I'm right here on the government side, just to let you know.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

STOYLES:

And

very proud to be here on the government side.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

STOYLES:

rise in the House today to recognize an award-winning author in my district who

has successfully published her second award-winning novel, titled

Alone on the Trail . It's the story

that reviewers say will “make you think twice before wandering, unprepared, into

the Newfoundland wilderness.”

Emily Hepditch is one of this province's newest and

brightest authors, having already published her first novel, titled

The Woman in the Attic , in 2020. Her

first venture in writing quickly became a number-one bestseller among

local-interest books in Newfoundland and Labrador, and remained on the

Atlantic Books Today top five local

bestsellers list for nine consecutive months.

Her first novel was the winner of the NL Reads

competition for 2021, and was also long-listed for the BMO Winterset Award.

What is more remarkable is that Ms. Hepditch is a

former student of O'Donel High School in Mount Pearl, and a graduate of Memorial

University, where she studied linguistics, criminology and psychology. When she

is not writing, she's studying law.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members to join me in

congratulating one of this province's aspiring authors, and wish her every

success in the future.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Lake Melville

TRIMPER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

History was made in Labrador last week when Stacy Ryan,

the respected staff solicitor of the Legal Aid Commission in Happy Valley-Goose

Bay, became a judge of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Madam Justice Ryan is the first Inuk woman to hold this

position and the first woman from Labrador to become a justice. Born and raised

in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, she attended law school in New Brunswick as a single

young mother setting out on a challenging journey.

She recently revealed: “I have worked very hard and a

lot of things didn't come easy but perseverance certainly does pay off. In some

ways I am glad it was difficult because I appreciate it more.”

Justice Ryan volunteered with the Board of Governors

with the College of the North Atlantic, as coordinator of the Jackrabbit Cross

Country Ski Program, with the board of trustees responsible for

Labrador-Grenfell Health, on the board of directors for the Mokami Status of

Women Council and on the Labrador Regional Appeal Board.

I ask all Members of this House of Assembly to

congratulate Justice Ryan on her perseverance, her appointment and the role she

will play inspiring future generations in Labrador.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Exploits.

FORSEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, Ms. Chelsea Thompson of Northern Arm is a

Grade 6 student of Memorial Academy in Botwood. Chelsea entered the Royal

Canadian Legion Remembrance Day Essay Contest, which takes place every year and

won first place in her region.

Chelsea's essay was about a Newfoundland dog named

Gander that served in World War II and was killed in action. Chelsea's essay was

automatically sent to the provincial level and she placed first in the

provincials. Her essay was then entered into the national contest, and she

received the exciting news that she had won first place nationally with her

essay.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members in the House of Assembly

to join me in congratulating Ms. Chelsea Thompson of Northern Arm on winning

first place regionally, provincially and nationally in the Remembrance Day Essay

Contest with the Royal Canadian Legion.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

WALL:

Mr.

Speaker, today I recognize both Lions Clubs in my district: Pouch Cove Lions

Club was formed in 1982, has 28 members and serves the surrounding communities

of Flat Rock and Bauline. Torbay Lions Club was formed 2015 and has 15 members.

Both clubs follow the motto “We Serve,” and that's

certainly being done. From offering financial assistance and ongoing food drives

to our local food bank, to hosting seniors take-out dinners, partnering in

community cleanups, supporting the Janeway, Easter Seals, School Lunch

Association, Santa Claus parades and annual sponsorships to our local schools.

Recognizing the importance of community engagement,

Torbay Lions hosted a seniors' yoga event and an online youth talent contest.

Pouch Cove Lions are partnering with surrounding towns and Cape St Francis

Elementary school to plant trees as part of their centennial project to

commemorate 100 years of Lions service to Canada.

Both clubs sponsor the national Recycle for Sight

Program, which supports optical missions around the world. Lions are certainly

busy with their efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all hon. Members to join me in

thanking the Pouch Cove and Torbay Lions Clubs for their dedication and service

to the constituents of Cape St. Francis.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Statements by Ministers.

Statements by Ministers

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills.

BYRNE:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I ask that all Members of this hon. House join me and

all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in condemning the horrific attack that took

place Sunday in London, Ontario and the Islamophobia it clearly represents.

This was an attack on the Muslim community, an attack

which took the lives of a grandmother, a mother, a father and a daughter,

leaving a young son with serious injuries. It was an attack of cowardice and of

evil.

Our hearts are with the Muslim community and our

thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones hurt by this terrible

act of hate and horror.

Mr. Speaker, I know the Muslim community is rightfully

worried about their safety and their place in the community. I wish to reassure

that you are valued, respected and supported during this difficult time. The

province stands with you. This morning I reached out to Dr. Mansoor Pirzada,

President of the Muslim Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, to offer both

my personal and our governments condolences to the family and to the larger

Muslim family.

This tragedy is a stark reminder of the danger and the

horror caused by discrimination in its most brutal form. Work on establishing a

ministerial Committee on anti-racism that will include the Ministers of

Immigration, Population Growth and Skills; Justice and Public Safety; and

Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation, has already begun.

Recognizing the systemic, persistent nature of racism,

the Committee will be seeking input from residents, from community

organizations, from employers, from educators, from researchers and many others

on their experiences, so we can develop tools to end racism in all of its forms.

Mr. Speaker, this is not the Canada we stand for.

Violence has no place here. We must do better. We stand against racism.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Grand Falls-Windsor - Buchans.

TIBBS:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. minister for an advance

copy of his statement.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Official Opposition, I

join with the minister in expressing my condolences and deepest sympathies to

the Afzaal family and Muslim community in London, Ontario.

Sunday evening's attack was a hateful crime perpetrated

against a Canadian family. To be honest, Mr. Speaker, I was personally upset to

hear this tragic and brutal act of hatred. No one deserves to be targeted of

such violence.

While my thoughts are with the community and the family

who are most impacted by this act, I also wish to take this opportunity to

condemn Islamophobia in all forms that it takes on.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd like to thank the minister for an advance copy of

his statement. I join with him and the Official Opposition in condemning this

horrific attack on Sunday in London, Ontario. It was a heinous crime, motivated

by heinous beliefs; I would even go so far as to call it

an act of terrorism.

Although this tragedy did not happen here, I'm sadly

all too aware of the fact that Islamophobia exists here, too. To the Muslims of

Newfoundland and Labrador, I say that you are not alone and you are an integral

part of our communities.

I call on our fellow Members of this House and all

people of our province to stand up to hate and call it out wherever and whenever

you see it. Let's live by our values here in Newfoundland and Labrador and truly

make this a welcoming place for all.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Digital Government and Service

NL.

STOODLEY:

Mr.

Speaker, too often people in our province are seriously injured or killed

because of irresponsible behaviour on our roadways. In many cases, this

irresponsible behaviour leads to the unimaginable loss or injury of a parent,

child, sibling, friend or neighbour. Whatever the relationship, individuals and

families must live with the loss or suffering of their loved ones. Even more

tragic is the fact that many of these incidents are preventable.

Words cannot express their devastation, and I commend

people like Gail Thorne and her STAND for Hannah Foundation in their efforts to

spread their road safety message, despite their suffering. I recently watched

the powerful documentary about Gail's daughter, Hannah, and it had a profound

impact on me and I offer my condolences.

As minister of the department responsible for the

Highway Traffic Act , I feel strongly

that we must keep these stories front and centre in our hearts and minds every

day. Groups like STAND for Hannah have lobbied government to strengthen

legislation to deter street racing and speeding on our highways. Their efforts

culminated with Bill 27 in 2017 which strengthened the act, introducing

infractions such as excessive speeding, street racing and stunting.

Mr. Speaker, I was struck by a line Gail said in the

documentary that sums up all of our responsibilities as road users: “Always obey

the rules.” If we all live by that simple message, we would have fewer incidents

on our highways and people like Gail Thorne and her family would not have to

live with such overwhelming loss.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thank the minister for an advance copy of her

statement. On behalf of the Opposition, I'd like to take this opportunity to

express my condolences to the family and friends of Hannah Thorne. I also wish

to commend and support the STAND for Hannah Foundation and Gail Thorne on their

ongoing advocacy work. I have no doubt that their efforts are making our roads a

safer place for all drivers, pedestrians and road users.

Mr. Speaker, this emotional and commanding documentary

is available for public viewing online and free of charge. I encourage residents

of this province to watch it and to truly reflect on how we can make all our

roads safer. We truly can stand together against negligent driving.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Labrador West.

BROWN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for the advance copy of her

statement. I would like to thank the people behind STAND for Hannah and any

other lobby group that advocates for more awareness on public safety issues.

When we go out on the road, we sign a social contract

promising to take responsibility for our own safety and the safety of everyone

we share the road with. It's up to all of us to ensure everyone makes it home

safely for dinner at night.

The Third Party caucus calls upon all Newfoundlanders

and Labradorians to remember our responsibility for the safety of the people we

share the road with. We call upon the government to continue to ensure our roads

are safe, properly maintained and enforcement of all traffic issues.

Thank you so much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

The hon. the Minister of Education.

OSBORNE:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members to join me in this hon.

House to extend congratulations to the 12 students who represented our province

at the 2021 Virtual Canada-Wide Science Fair hosted by Carlton University from

May 17 to 21.

The students who participated in the national science

fair were selected from two Husky Energy Newfoundland Science and Technology

Fairs, held in April.

The first fair was held for students in Labrador,

Western and Central Newfoundland regions, and saw the selection of Grace

Tuglavina from Lake Melville School in North West River; Amy Gillard from St.

Stephen's All Grade in Rencontre East;, as well as Hannah Babstock, Miya Burden,

Cassie Saunders, and Ethan Woodfine, all students at Holy Cross School in

Eastport.

The Eastern Science and Technology Fair saw the

selection of Holy Heart students Livi Allen, John Hiscock and Nicholas Qiu, Holy

Spirit student Caleb Tibbs, as well as Orpa Hawlader and Dipayan Sutra Dhar from

MacDonald Drive Junior High.

Mr. Speaker, the national virtual science fair included

374 projects from junior and senior high students from across the country,

including all provinces and territories. Livi Allen, Orpa Hawlader and Nicholas

Qui each won bronze at this competition.

I ask all hon. Members to join me in congratulating the

12 students of the 2021 Science Team Newfoundland and Labrador. The students

represented the province with pride and are to be commended for their hard work

and perseverance in successfully completing a science project during these

challenging times.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Conception Bay South.

PETTEN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I would like to thank the hon. minister for an

advance copy of his statement.

All of us on this side of the House join the hon.

minister in congratulating these 12 students who represented Newfoundland and

Labrador at the 2021 Virtual Canada-Wide Science Fair.

Mr. Speaker, these bright students are to be commended

for their hard work and dedication during a difficult COVID school year. Even to

make it to a national event is noteworthy. Their determination and creativity,

no doubt with support from parents at home and from their teachers, helped these

young people shine on the national stage.

Congratulations to all participating, and a special

hats off to the three bronze medal winners.

One final special mention, Mr. Speaker, of Caleb Tibbs,

who is from Holy Spirit, which is in my district.

Thank you very much.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I, too, thank the minister for an advance copy of his

statement and join him in recognizing the students of the 2021 Science Team NL

for their accomplishments at the Canada-Wide Science Fair.

It's an exceptional achievement by our secondary

students, and the Third Party would like to extend our congratulations to all

those who participated as a member of the team.

Certainly, as a former educator, this is significant

and it means something personally to me. These students are a great example of

the bright and budding minds in this province. To them, as well to all of our

students, I say keep going; keep up the good work. Build on your achievements.

You are the up-and-coming innovators and our future as a province looks all the

brighter for your efforts.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Further statements by ministers?

Oral Questions.

Oral Questions

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, the prime minister once again offered

platitudes without any details of specifics on the ongoing negotiations

surrounding the Muskrat Falls Project. The Premier claims he is being

transparent, but has yet to offer any update on details of the negotiations

since he appointed his friend to lead them.

I ask the Premier: Are the Muskrat Falls rate

mitigation negotiations tied to the so-called Atlantic Loop project?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As we've said many times, we have been open and

transparent about the status of the negotiations; they are ongoing. We have

provided updates, including the update in December with the announcement of the

two negotiating teams, including almost a billion dollars of relief at that

time, Mr. Speaker, for a project that was mismanaged by the Members opposite.

We're continuing to have ongoing negotiations and we

will provide updates when updates are ready. They're just not ready just yet,

Mr. Speaker, and it wouldn't be in the commercial best interests of the province

to begin negotiating in public at a Tim Hortons or across the aisle here in this

House of Assembly at this particular moment in time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I remind the Premier that the operations and the

management of the build of Muskrat Falls were under the Liberal regime.

Mr. Speaker, the Greene report recommended the bundling

of assets of the Churchill River for sale. The prime minister clearly tied the

rate mitigation negotiations to the Atlantic Loop in his speech.

I ask the Premier: Does rate mitigation mean a giveaway

of our Churchill River assets?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As I've said many times, there will be no giveaways.

This is an incredibly valuable asset for the people of this province. We've

already learned during two hydroelectric projects that we can't rush it. We need

to make sure that we're responsible, we're prudent and everything that we do is

in the best interest of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. There will be no

giveaways.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The prime minister would only say we're going to be

there when speaking about the province's fiscal situation. Again, platitudes

without details.

I ask the Premier: Has Ottawa offered any direct

financial support to relieve the debt burden of the province, or are we walking

the path alone?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Premier.

PREMIER A. FUREY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

As the Member opposite should know, the prime minister

and this federal Liberal government have been there for Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians. If he needs reminding let me just provide some numbers for him as

to how the federal government has been there during COVID-19: $152 million for

Safe Restart; $26 million for Safe Return to Class; $2 million for sports

participation; $320 million for oil and gas funding; $53 million for COVID

contingency for essential workers; $600 million for Canada Emergency Wage

Subsidy; $450 million for Canada Emergency Business Account; $10 million for

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance; $4 million for Canada Emergency

Rent Subsidy; $500 million for the Canada Recovery Benefit, the CRB; $31 million

for Canada Emergency Student Benefit; $83 million for extra GST credit; $23

million for enhanced CCB.

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

Your time has expired.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'll remind the Premier, let's also add in another

number: Six years of no equalization and $10 billion lost to the people of

Newfoundland and Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

BRAZIL:

Mr.

Speaker, airline prices across the country are cheap and affordable –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

BRAZIL:

in every province but Newfoundland and Labrador. The prime minister suggested

yesterday that the price would go down but offered no details on how the federal

government would help.

I ask the Premier: What supports have the federal

government offered to ensure flights to and from Newfoundland and Labrador are

comparable to the rest of the country to make sure we aren't left behind when

the borders open?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation.

CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I can tell you even before the prime minister

highlighted it yesterday, it's something that we've been following very closely

on this side of the House because this is a very important question.

I had a conversation earlier this morning with Air

Canada. I expressed our concerns. They're going to go back and review it. Our

officials are following up again either later today or tomorrow. It's something

that we will monitor on an ongoing basis.

It was good to see the prime minister notice it and pay

attention to it, Mr. Speaker, but it was on my radar certainly before yesterday

lunchtime.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition.

BRAZIL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Air access is vital to ensure our economy recovers as

the pandemic draws to a conclusion. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador are

sick of platitudes. It's time for action.

I ask the Premier: Can the province expect direct help

on airline prices from the federal government or are we yet again being left

behind the rest of the country?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation.

CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for the question.

Mr. Speaker, we've been having those conversations.

We're emerging from a pandemic. Just last week, we launched our reopening plan.

That plan has been met with much enthusiasm. We know that one of the areas of

success to make that plan work will be air access. We are monitoring it on a

daily basis. We are talking to our airport authorities.

It was really good over the weekend to already see

flights being re-added to Gander; a direct flight four times a week from

Toronto. We seen good news yesterday on NAV CANADA and their operations in

Gander.

Mr. Speaker, we're now seeing Air Canada, as we move

into the reopening plan, with four direct flights a day to and from Toronto,

which is the centre of our hub.

Mr. Speaker, we will monitor rates as well and continue

those conversations with our major airlines.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

WAKEHAM:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I want to point out a couple of schedules. The Finance

Minister's Budget Speech notes that spending will have to be cut by $300 million

in order to return the province to surplus. The Premier's Greene report argues

that cuts of almost $1 billion are needed.

I ask the Minister: Can you explain the difference?

Which document is correct?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I don't know. I don't have it before me, the documents

to which he refers. If he's happy to deliver those documents to me or table them

in the House of Assembly, I'll certainly have a look at them to see how he's

confused between the two documents.

I will say, Mr. Speaker, we are on a path towards

having a balanced –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

COADY:

budget by the '25-'26 year.

Mr. Speaker, we are taking a prudent, responsible

approach. In fact, Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when I was speaking with the banking

syndicate they noted the same.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

WAKEHAM:

Mr.

Speaker, with all due respect to the minister, I think the confusion is on that

side. One of the documents is her own Budget Speech; the other is the Premier's

Greene report, which she's charged with implementing. So I think the confusion

lies – just simply pick up your reports and look at the numbers. The scary

part

in this, though, is in order to balance the budget the minister's own documents,

again, note that revenue will have to increase by $1.3 billion.

Minister, please be honest and transparent with the

people of the province and tell us what tax increases are planning in the coming

years. How much more will people have to pay to live here?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I thought that was rather disparaging at the beginning

of his discourse, Mr. Speaker. I will say that I'm very familiar with the speech

that I gave in this House last week and I'm very familiar with the Greene

report, but I will say he's, yet again, got it wrong. In the statement of

operations forecast, revenue, for example, in '21-'22 is $8.5 billion.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

COADY:

Revenue is expected to be $8.3 billion in '25-'26. I'm not sure to which numbers

he's referring. That's actually decline, not an increase.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

WAKEHAM:

Mr.

Speaker, if we look at our 2021 revised number, that's where I'm comparing it

to, so there is no confusion. The only problem we have here is I'm not sure if

the minister is prepared to tell the people of the province exactly what they're

planning on doing. We know in 2016 that they introduced a budget that was

heavily on taxes and little less than nothing on reducing expenditures.

Again, I ask the minister: Are there any planned future

tax increases in the forecast?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is unfortunate the Member opposite keeps getting it

wrong, but I will say to the Member opposite: No, there are no additional

increases in taxation. That's not the way a budget forecast works. We are not

showing any increases in taxation besides the ones that were announced in the

budget.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Stephenville - Port au Port.

WAKEHAM:

So,

again, Minister, it's good to hear that there are no increases planned, but I

don't think that we have it wrong. I'm a little confused that they don't really

know what they have planned.

Before the mistakes of 2016 are repeated and taxes and

fees are increased, an analysis should be done of all current taxes and fees,

the revenue collected and the cost to administer them.

I ask the minister: Will you do a cost-benefit analysis

of all taxes and fees and eliminate any that are ineffective and table the

results here in the House?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will say to the Member opposite that I did announce

in the budget – he would've noticed it in the speech, I'm sure, Mr. Speaker –

that we would have a continuing improvement process, a review of expenditures, a

program review, as well as an accountability framework built into the Treasury

Board. All programs within this government – all services, all programs, all

taxation will be reviewed.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Exploits.

FORSEY:

Mr.

Speaker, the number one complaint from constituents is the lengthy waiting

period in dealing with Crown Lands. In some cases, people have been tied up for

years. It is not always their fault, as the minister suggests.

I ask the minister: What are you doing to prevent these

applicants from ending up in limbo for months and years?

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

The hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and

Agriculture.

BRAGG:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I guess it's a bit of a privilege today to be the

number one complaint for the province to be Crown Lands after just bringing down

a budget, Mr. Speaker. If the number one problem is Crown Lands, I look forward

to fixing the problem for the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

BRAGG:

I said before, there are numerous reasons why sometimes an application would

take a long time. A lot of times there are family conflicts, there are land

conflicts: there are a whole slew of issues. I wish sometimes we would just look

at some of the ones we do get done on time and there are a lot of these. That's

the ones you don't hear about, but the ones that take time.

We're more than willing to make an offer to the Member

opposite, as I've done before, to help work on some of these situations and some

of these files because some are complicated, Mr. Speaker, too complicated to

talk about in this House to be honest.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Exploits.

FORSEY:

Mr.

Speaker, it is the number one issue in my district probably.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

FORSEY:

they did streamline Crown Lands, Mr. Speaker, they would certainly increase the

revenue for government. The toll-free line was supposed to increase access to

Crown Lands; however, from our constituents, feedback seems to be achieving –

this is the opposite.

Now that we are starting to relax restrictions in other

areas, what steps is the minister taking in reopening personal service at

department of Crown Lands?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.

BRAGG:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member opposite for the

question.

The reopening plan for Crown Lands is much like any

other government offices. We're going forward; there is a plan in place. But our

1-800 number – and we also found out through this, this is the best way to deal

with a lot of the complaints. A lot of it is done faster, more efficient.

I encourage people to continue using our 1-800 number

because that is the people who always have the information at their fingertips,

Mr. Speaker. We will be reopening and the plan, as you know it, as COVID

progresses, will be similar to any other department in this province.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Exploits.

FORSEY:

Efficiency was certainly up, Minister.

Can we get an update, Minister, on the status of

backlog so as to have a definite number of how many people are currently

affected by delays?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.

BRAGG:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

That will be a question that I don't have the answer

readily at my fingertips, but I do know over the last year to two years we have

worked so hard. We have decreased it, I'm going to say by about 75 per cent, but

the actual number of files that are still ongoing that would be considered

delayed, I would have to find out that information and report back to this House

at a later date.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

In 2017, this House supported a private Member's motion

to implement pay equity legislation. Four years later, Newfoundland and Labrador

is the only Atlantic province without such legislation.

When will the minister bring forward the necessary

legislation, which once and for all will treat men and women equally in our

province?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister Responsible for Women and Gender Equality.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Well, certainly, pay equity is a primary conversation

since I've come into this department. I will say that extensive work has been

done for years and years prior to this government taking office. It's certainly

not a new issue.

That said, we're committed to working collaboratively

with departments such as the Department of Labour and all Members to do what we

can to make change happen as soon as we can within our fiscal reality.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Mr. Speaker, I suggest to the minister that this is not

a difficult question; legislation should be debated immediately.

Will the minister bring in pay equity legislation in

2021, yes or no?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister Responsible for Women and Gender Equality.

PARSONS:

would like to remind the hon. Member, Mr. Speaker, that the department of Women

and Gender Equality doesn't have the authoritative legislation to implement that

in the House. It will take collaborative work among government.

That said, we are certainly committed to doing

everything that we can within our fiscal reality. I will remind the Member,

payments such as the $600 million that we will need for rate mitigation,

certainly could have gone a long way to help programs such as pay equity and

other much-needed resources and programs that we need in Newfoundland and

Labrador.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

PARSONS:

But

make no mistake we are certainly committed to doing everything we can, Mr.

Speaker. I also want to remind this hon. House that it was this Premier who made

it mandatory to put a GBA-plus lens on every program and policy that is produced

out of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. We certainly are committed

to doing everything that we can.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Mr. Speaker, it's very concerning now when I hear that

the Minister Responsible for Women and Gender Equality doesn't have the

authority to lead the way with respect to pay equity legislation.

Mr. Speaker, the chief of the RNC has announced his

retirement. We are also aware that at least three other members of the RNC

executive leadership team have decided to leave the force. In a recent

non-confidence vote, 90 per cent of RNC officers expressed discontent with RNC

leadership.

I ask the minister: Is he concerned about the lack of

confidence and evidence of conflict in the leadership of our provincial police

force?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

HOGAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for the question.

She is correct that the chief of the RNC is going to be

retiring. In my short time here in the minister's seat, I have the utmost faith

in every officer at the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and every officer at the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police as well. Of course there are people leaving

positions. That's called retirement and people moving on and making decisions in

life. I support all those individuals at the RNC who are making those decisions.

I can assure the Member opposite that the process is in

place to do a national search for a new chief of the Royal Newfoundland

Constabulary here in this province. I look forward to hiring that person when

the time comes. I'm sure they will do a great job.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Again, Mr. Speaker, it's concerning that the minister

doesn't see these signs as evidence of a tumultuous workplace.

According to a briefing note, there are about 400 RNC

officers with over 30 eligible to retire. With only 14 recruit constables, the

current RNC chief decided to cancel the 2021 Cadet Training course.

I ask the minister: Does he support this decision?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

HOGAN:

Thank you for the question.

The short answer is I support any decision to make sure

people are safe to avoid contracting COVID during the pandemic.

I do want to note, too, that in regard to situations

involving the RNC or any situations where there are complaints, there is a

public complaint process which works very well. It's independent of the RNC. If

any individuals in the public do have issues with any officer, they can make a

complaint publicly. It's not dealt with by the RNC; it's dealt with individuals.

It's a civilian-led process. I think it works quite well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Harbour Main.

CONWAY OTTENHEIMER:

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the issue of recruit

constables and the low numbers that are present, I ask the minister again: In

Estimates last year, the chief of the RNC spoke about the need to continue

training RNC cadets through the pandemic.

Will cadet training resume?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Justice and Public Safety.

HOGAN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm sure the RNC has ongoing training all the time.

HON. MEMBER:

(Inaudible.)

HOGAN:

Yes, I'm sure it's part of safety and a process and a priority for the RNC to

make sure that individuals who move up through the ranks are well trained so

they can do their jobs.

I, again, just want to confirm for everyone in

Newfoundland and Labrador that I have no doubt that the RNC is doing its job to

make sure every Newfoundlander and Labradorian is safe in this province.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Sadly news just broke of another ATV death in our

province, this time a 30 year-old man in Hopedale. Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and

prayers go out to friends and family of the individual.

Tragically, 17 people died in our province on ATVs or

snowmobiles in 2020. Government promised new legislation three years ago, we

have two elections since then, a revolving door of ministers and repeated sounds

of consultations.

Will the minister finally bring in new legislation in

this session?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Digital Government and Service NL.

STOODLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I certainly do want to send my condolences to the

family and friends to the gentleman in Hopedale who tragically lost his life

this morning in an ATV accident.

ATV safety and off-road safety is incredibly important,

it's in my mandate letter. We have done a comprehensive review of our

legislation – comprehensive – that is complete. The proposed legislation is

working its way through the process; it is incredibly important to this

government.

I look forward to bringing it forward to the House at a

future date and I look forward to the Opposition Members support in that

legislation to increase safety for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We certainly look forward to that legislation come it,

it is due time that gets done.

Mr. Speaker, we have the highest fatality rate in

Atlantic Canada. The minister said in the last session of the House said it

would be soon, and she said in the media on May 20: Newfoundland and Labrador

regulations were outdated and “it does put a sense of urgency on any changes

that we do have to make.”

Mr. Speaker, how many more fatalities have to happen in

this province before this legislation gets done?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Digital Government and Service NL.

STOODLEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

ATV and snowmobile safety is incredibly important, I

remind the Member opposite and all residents of Newfoundland and Labrador that

safety is everyone's responsibility. It's important that everyone takes

precautions, they operate vehicles according to the manufacturer's

specifications and they take all safety precautions necessary.

I do look forward to brining legislation forward to

this House at a future date to improve safety of Newfoundlanders and

Labradorians.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

WALL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I'm continuing to hear from municipalities

who are struggling from increased tender bids as a result of skyrocketing costs,

such as lumber, and they are unable to move ahead with critical infrastructure

projects.

I ask the minister: How does she plan to address this

ongoing issue?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

LOVELESS:

I'll have to apologize, Mr. Speaker, I didn't hear his question so if he could –

I know it was infrastructure related but if you would repeat that question I

would appreciate that.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

WALL:

Municipalities are struggling with increased tender bids as a result of

skyrocketing costs, such as lumber, and are unable to move ahead with the

critical infrastructure projects that they have.

How does the minister plan on addressing this issue?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

LOVELESS:

have many programs within the infrastructure program where municipalities are

involved. I finalized that process and we're moving along with those projects

that are important to the towns.

I realize the challenge around the lumber prices, but I

can't give an answer to say that I'm going to reduce the lumber prices today,

but it's a conversation that needs to be had.

In terms of projects overall, we're moving along with

tenders and work is getting done within towns of Newfoundland and Labrador.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Cape St. Francis.

WALL:

Mr. Speaker, I asked about this important topic earlier in the House and the

minister replied by saying, and I quote: “In the event that these things do

arise, I'm sure there are conditions that we can address and look at to see that

they are reached in a manner that's appropriate for communities who need special

assistance.”

Will the minister commit to providing assistance to

these municipalities so they can move ahead with their critical infrastructure

projects?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs.

HOWELL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I would like to speak to that and let communities know

that we are doing what we can in our department with our Special Assistance

Grants. There's a process by which communities can apply and we discuss the

merits of the request and determine on a needs basis, a lot of the times, what

it is that we can do as a government to assist these communities, to make sure

that things are happening in a manner that's appropriate for individuals,

residents and towns to make that their services are maintained and that people

have access to the things that they need in their community.

I do welcome communities to send their applications to

our Special Assistance Grants Program and we'll move forward on those.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yesterday, in this House, the Minister of Industry,

Energy and Technology was asked what the government would do to ensure that

Newfoundland Power's shareholders' cash grab of $30 million didn't fall on the

backs of ratepayers. The minister's response yesterday to my question about the

rate increase application highlights the problem with privatization. The fact is

that government is powerless to protect its citizens from corporate greed.

Now, if we accept this I have to ask: How is this

government going to maintain their commitment to keep energy prices where they

are after Muskrat Falls comes online if they are powerless to stop rate

increases now?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I appreciate the question, but I would also appreciate

the Member that if he's going to put words in my mouth, please, at least be

accurate and refer to the Hansard

rather than to use words that I simply did not say.

Now, there are a couple of different issues at play

here: one is the rate mitigation file that we're dealing with and the other one

is the general rate application from Newfoundland Power. I'll deal with the

general rate application here.

There is a process in place involving the Public

Utilities Board, a quasi-judicial board that will hear evidence on both sides.

What I would point out to the Member opposite is that we have a Consumer

Advocate who is presenting their side – representing the side of consumers.

As a government, we must watch the process unfold to

see what comes from this. We simply will not jump into a quasi-judicial matter

but, obviously, power rates are something that is top of mind for us every

single day.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'd certainly remind the minister I never referred to

anything that he said, just a general

summary here.

If the fiscal plan involves provincial government

services being offered by private sector for-profit businesses, what measures

will government take to ensure that the people of our province do not fall

victim to excessive price increases or a reduction of services as the result of

businesses attempting to increase their profit margins?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Industry, Energy and Technology.

PARSONS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I'm not sure what the Member is suggesting, that we

should jump in here and use the power of the Legislature or government to

determine what these companies can and cannot do. Sometimes it sounds great in

theory – we would love to be able to do that – but the reality is that doing

something of that nature would have multiple repercussions across multiple

departments and the entire community that I don't think they have contemplated.

What I can say is that we have a process in place.

Nobody likes the idea of power rate increases, but there is a process. It is top

of mind for us; we continually spend a good portion of every single day dealing

with power rates; a lot of times the issue that was not created by us but is

certainly left to us to clean up.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Would the Premier identify, then, what provincial

government services will be privatized or considered for, as it's called, joint

solutions? Or are we supposed to keep talking – taking that everything is on the

table as an acceptable answer?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The Budget Speech itself listed off services such as

ferries, registries and facilities management. Mr. Speaker, we are looking for

solutions from industry, from unions, from co-ops, from social enterprises in

how better to deliver that service at a more reasonable cost.

Mr. Speaker, we're going to go out and ask for people

to come forward with their solutions and organizations to come forward with

their solutions, and we'll consider, once we have that information, as to how we

best move forward from there.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands.

JOYCE:

Mr.

Speaker, we hear a lot in the government itself about the ways to cut savings

and cut costs. Across the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, under the

infrastructure of Transportation and works, there are a lot of buildings that

aren't being used. Even if you pass them on to the communities, it would save a

lot of savings in rent and heat and light.

I ask the minister: Have you done an infrastructure –

any type of reading of how many buildings are in this province that aren't being

used, the cost of the buildings and how much are we paying for upkeep of these

buildings?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

LOVELESS:

Happy to answer that.

Yes, we have and we're continuing on with that

analysis.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Humber -Bay of Islands.

JOYCE:

Mr.

Speaker, now that you have all the buildings in place that you feel can be sold

off or can be given to a community to help benefit a community will you table

that in the House of Assembly? So we all would know what benefits they could be

to the communities, what we can help with towns itself who are in desperate need

of infrastructure, who are in desperate need of recreation facilities and who

are in desperate need for buildings, say, for fire departments that can be

refurbished to a fire department.

Would the minister table that information, which he

just said he has, in the House of Assembly?

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

LOVELESS:

guess my previous answer was there's analysis that's been done and is continuing

to be done. Once I've done my due diligence, I don't see a reason why I can't

provide that information to the hon. Member.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

time for Question Period has expired.

Presenting Reports by Standing and Select Committees.

Tabling of Documents.

Tabling of Documents

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

COADY:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Pursuant to

section 26(5)(

a) of the

Financial Administration Act, I'm

tabling three orders-in-council relating to funding pre-commitment for fiscal

years '22-'23 to '26-'27.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SPEAKER:

Any

other tabling of documents?

Notices of Motion.

Notices of Motion

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

CROCKER:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I give notice that I will on tomorrow move, in

accordance with Standing Order 11(1), that this House not adjourn at 5:30 p.m.

on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

SPEAKER:

Any

other notices of motion?

Answers to Questions for which Notice has been Given.

Petitions.

Petitions

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Ferryland.

O'DRISCOLL:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The background to this petition is as follows: The

Public Utilities Board has approved a licence for an ambulance owner to operate

in the area from Bay Bulls to Bauline. This area is one of the fastest growing

areas of the province; there have been many concerns from residents,

municipalities, councils and emergency responders regarding response times.

Therefore, we petition the House of Assembly as

follows: We, the undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to support the position of this service

provider and ensure that residents of the Ferryland District meet national

standards for response times.

Mr. Speaker, I live in an area that we have a person

that's looking to provide an ambulance service. In the District of Ferryland, I

know the area where I live in order to get an ambulance, it has to come from

Cape Broyle, which would be on a good day, I'm going to say, 20-25 minutes, and

that would be the best response time. Coming from St. John's, it would be, I'm

going to say, a half-hour, 35-minute response time.

With somebody looking to provide this service there, I

think it would be essential of the government to be able to look at that and

provide that service. We have a great volunteer fire department that responds to

the calls and takes care of some of the people that are in distress at certain

times, so it's something that we would love to see in our area. It would

certainly help our wait times.

I know it happens, but we have instances of an hour and

a half or two hours for people waiting for an ambulance. I just think that

something should be done to consider this and look at these ambulance responses.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Lake Melville.

TRIMPER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have a very interesting petition here today.

The Labrador husky is a unique and hardy breed of

working dog. It is believed this breed evolved from the first domesticated dog

brought by the Thule Inuit to Labrador in the 1300s. Interbreeding with wild

wolves resulted in a superior and well-adapted sled dog for hundreds of years in

Labrador. Instead of speed, the Labrador husky is well known for extremely high

levels of endurance.

The Labrador husky served as an invaluable asset to the

people of Labrador until the advent of the snowmobile, aiding in communication

and transportation. Today, this breed continues to be popular as pets and/or as

recreational sled dogs.

For the last number of years, a dedicated group of

Labrador husky enthusiasts – including breeders and owners – has been compiling

historical and present-day information on the Labrador husky to promote

provincial awareness and recognition of its unique genetic composition, similar

to that of the Newfoundland pony. These volunteers have been working with

partners such as the NunatuKavut Community Council, Memorial University of

Newfoundland and Labrador and many others, over the last five years to build

this case for special recognition.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call upon this House of

Assembly to urge the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to designate the

Labrador husky as a heritage status animal for its unique genetic makeup and its

important contribution to the culture and history of Labrador and other Northern

regions.

Mr. Speaker, if anyone's had a chance to ever visit

Labrador and see some of the dogs and the sled teams that are making a bit of a

revival, it's truly a unique breed. It's actually quite large. As I said, it

tends to be slower, but it's tough, it's strong and it's known for its

endurance.

As part of the prep for this, I reached out to the team

and have been working closely with them. We understand we have about 51 Labrador

huskies known at this time, so this is becoming a bit of a dire situation and we

feel this status could really help us a lot.

I did also reach out to Mr. Jack Harris, who in this

very room back in June of 1994 introduced a private Member's resolution calling

upon the House to establish what became known as the

Heritage Animals Act and the Newfoundland pony was entered into that

structure.

So we'd like to follow along on a similar heel, and I'm

hoping government would be willing to sit down with the volunteers and myself

and others to take a look at this. As I said, we have 51 animals. They're mostly

in, right now, coastal communities. We have a few in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Timing is of the essence. There is some interbreeding going on and we'd like to

get a handle on the breeding control of this breed within our province for the

future of everyone.

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.

BRAGG:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member opposite for the

petition.

I think it's a very important petition, and to be proud

of our heritage is something in this province we all should be. I look forward

to reading this petition and meeting with the people and moving this forward

over the next little while.

Thank you very much for the petition.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

EVANS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens of

Newfoundland and Labrador who call upon the House of Assembly to urge the

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure that all future provincial

elections have written and verbal instruction on voting process translated into

all provincial Indigenous languages and their respective dialects. Providing our

Indigenous people with accurate information in their own language is essential

to ensuring that they have the ability to cast a valid and democratic vote.

Inuit, Innu and Mi'kmaq are Indigenous peoples, the

first peoples of our province so we believe that the information regarding the

democratic process to vote should be available in our province's first

languages.

Therefore, we petition the hon. House of Assembly: We,

the undersigned, call upon the House of Assembly to urge the Government of

Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure that all future provincial elections have

written and verbal instructions on the voting process translated into all

provincial Indigenous languages and their respective dialects.

Why am I presenting this petition again? We do have a

Committee in place to deal with the Elections Act, but I think it is very

important. Just looking at this petition that I have in front of me, two of the

people who signed this petition at actually Inuktitut teachers involved in

curriculum development for the language.

Another thing with this petition is that the people who

signed it were from different communities, so I think it is actually a good

petition to present, but, more importantly, I think what happened in the last

election really impacted people. It made people actually reflect on the

democratic process. We didn't notice in past elections that the instructions on

voting weren't actually translated into our first Indigenous peoples languages:

Inuktitut, Innu-aimun and Mi'kmaw language.

I think it is important to make sure that not only do

we change that but we actually identify it as a past failing that impacted

people. It was never thought about so we have to question: Why wasn't it thought

about? How could we actually have an election in Newfoundland and Labrador and

not have the instructions on how to vote for your Member of the House of

Assembly that's going to represent you, that's going to fight for your rights,

that's going to try to make sure that the communities in your district are

looked after and protected, Mr. Speaker? We never had the instructions on how to

cast a vote in the language of the first peoples so how do we know that they

actually were voting for the people that they chose.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Government House Leader.

CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I call Orders of the Day.

Orders of the Day

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Exploits.

FORSEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Again, Mr. Speaker, it's great to be here in the –

SPEAKER:

Oh,

sorry, my apologies.

The hon. the Government House Leader.

CROCKER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I call Motion 1.

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Exploits, we'll reset the clock for you.

FORSEY:

I'd

like to be as fast on petitions.

Anyway, Mr. Speaker, it's great to be here in the House

of Assembly again to discuss issues in my district. Of course, the budget

regarding health care in the region, it didn't meet the specs of what we were

really looking for with regard to health care.

Health care is wide ranged in our district, of course,

Mr. Speaker, that runs from seniors, doctors, administration, especially the CEO

of Central Health. It's been a year now since we've even had a CEO at Central

Health. She retired last June, put in her resignation. Right now, that CEO is

still not on site.

We've just went through an amazing brush with COVID for

the past two weeks, almost a month now, actually. We went from Level 2 to Level

4 in a quick instance. To have a CEO on site to monitor those issues would have

been ideal, at the time, yet the CEO is still in New Brunswick. We're paying a

CEO that's in New Brunswick and we have no one on site. That issue becomes a

challenging issue for health care in the Exploits District. It's time to get

that rectified and for the health department to search for another CEO.

Mr. Speaker, then we have a doctor shortage, of course,

in Central Newfoundland. I have gotten a number of calls from people trying to

see a doctor, trying to find doctors but there's nowhere that they seem to get a

doctor to be able to take them. That's becoming a big issue. This is causing a

great stress on seniors. Seniors have to travel great distances now just to see

a specialist. We're trying to put more money into seniors' pocket, trying to

help out seniors. This certainly needs to be addressed.

I do know one lady called me, she had to go see a

dermatologist here in the city. That was a great expense to her. They had to put

fuel in their car. It was in the middle of winter sort of thing, so they had to

drive in in the wintertime. It cost them a hotel room because they couldn't

drive back and forth in one day, so it was an amazing expense; amazing stress on

the individuals themselves to just be able to see a dermatologist. Doctor

shortages are certainly a big issue in our district, Mr. Speaker.

I'm sure it's not only in our district; it's an issue

that's all across the province. Government has to start taking initiatives to

bring doctors to (inaudible), to make it interesting for them to stay here, to

keep them here, raise their families, while (inaudible), Mr. Speaker, to keep

doctors here. That's another issue in the district.

As far as seniors go, Mr. Speaker, keeping money in

seniors' pockets right now (inaudible), the elderly would like to stay in their

own homes.

(Technical difficulties.)

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

It seems like we're having issues with the Member for

Exploits's microphone. With the consent of the House, I'll ask him to move to

MHA Dwyer's seat.

I apologize for the interruption there.

The hon. the Member for Exploits.

FORSEY:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We'll continue with the Budget Speech. Again, like I

said earlier, it's great to be here speaking on the budget and it's great to be

here representing the great District of Exploits. I'd like to thank the people

of Exploits District for putting me in this position for the second time;

they're able to bring their concerns and their issues to the House of Assembly.

I'm very proud to do that and very honoured to do it.

Mr. Speaker, I do believe I ended off with seniors with

regard to trying to keep money in seniors' pockets and trying to keep seniors in

their own homes with regard to home care subsidies. I realize that I did mention

this last week when I spoke that senior subsidies got cut in 2016. That's very

unfortunate because they cut their subsidies. They got less hours for home care,

yet they increased their contribution. That's disturbing for seniors to be

treated that way, especially now with the rising cost of food, the rising cost

of fuel, the rising cost of –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

I ask Members to take their meetings outside.

FORSEY:

home maintenance, Mr. Speaker. All that's become a big burden on seniors, and I

guess anyone on a fixed income, because it's very stressful to be able to fix

and repair their homes with the price of lumber, the cost of all the repair and

maintenance that needs to be done. So finding a way to keep money in seniors'

pockets is becoming crucial.

Again, Mr. Speaker, dentures, eyeglasses: If the

seniors have to spend more money on their homes, spend more money on heat, spend

more money on food, then their basic personal necessities – their eyeglasses,

their dentures – becomes a problem to seniors. They shouldn't have to do without

eyeglasses; they shouldn't have to do without their dentures because they have

to find some way to have some heat in their house, food in their home or even

home care. That money shouldn't be taken from those seniors. We should be

finding more ways to help the seniors in our province. It's cruel the way

they're being treated.

Mr. Speaker, policing: Policing was another issue that

was brought up to me during the election. It seems like the shortage of police

officers – crime seems to be on the rise in our way. One time you hardly heard

of crime, basically. I'm sure everybody has crime, but it seems like it's on the

increase now in the past little while because it seems like they know that the

police aren't around. It's harder to see a police officer. The presence of

police officers alone is disturbing. It creates an issue to the businesses; it

creates an issue to the residents. I've noticed more people are keeping their

door locked around now, even the smaller communities, because they're afraid now

of the crime and the people that are around. That is because of the shortage of

police, Mr. Speaker.

Again, with the shortage of police, dirt bikes and ATVs

are becoming more of an issue on roadways, because they know you can probably

use the roadways and they're easier access to get where they want to go. They

know there are no police around, so a lot of people are using the roadways with

their ATVs, dirt bikes and that sort of thing, Mr. Speaker. Those are issues

that need to be addressed.

There needs to be more money put into policing, or

maybe the wildlife officers. I don't know how much enforcement can be done in

that way in regard to working with the police. I've had some conversation with

some of the communities there – and it's a good idea, probably. They feel like

if the police and the wildlife enforcement officers, especially with dirt bikes,

quads and that sort of thing, if they're using that on town streets, town roads,

then maybe if the enforcement officers are on those streets, too, maybe they can

use their influence to control that part of the problem, Mr. Speaker.

Roads in the district; again, it's everybody's problem.

We have potholes, bad roads, holes and brush cutting. There are numerous needs

for the roads in the district, especially if we're going to increase tourism.

Again, with health care, we're driving long distances, that sort of stuff. We

need our roads fixed up a bit more, Mr. Speaker, to keep people safer on our

highways, safer on our roads. I know there's brush cutting along one of the main

highways, the Botwood highway. There are even trees growing up now alongside the

highway, right next to the pavement. That's becoming an issue as well. That

stuff needs to be taken care of in our district.

Regular maintenance then, of course, can be done.

Probably, if the Transportation Minister got a contractor sometimes to do some

of the smaller work, Minister, maybe the workers could put more time into the

regular maintenance of the roadways, especially guardrails, the pothole

patching, while contracting out some cutting and paving. Maybe that can be done

quicker. I'm sure if the contractor wanted to, he would get it done in probably

less time as it was to get our own workers to do it. By the time they get set up

with their safety issues and that kind of stuff, the amount of work that they

get done in a run of a day – maybe that's something we would look into.

Hopefully we'll get some more roadwork in our district.

I'm looking forward to that. I know the constituents in my area are certainly

looking forward to roadwork.

Internet service, Mr. Speaker, the same thing. I've

heard this brought up in a lot of districts, Internet services. Again, it was

certainly brought to light during the election with regard to the Internet

services. I've heard a lot of people mention with regard to trying to get their

ballots ordered and trying to get them back. It really became a problem,

especially for seniors and especially more so in the rural areas, in the outport

parts that the Internet service is poor. We need to have more access to Internet

services.

I know the Minister of Health has been alluding to

telemedicine. If we're moving more to telemedicine, then I don't know what we

expect with regard to health if we don't have the Internet service. If that

can't be provided in a rural area, in an outlying area. If you have a patient

that's in critical health and there's no Internet service and that needs to done

with regard to telemedicine, then the Internet services are certainly going to

need to be addressed. We're certainly going to need more attention put on that.

That is another big problem, Mr. Speaker. Not only

that, there are people trying to create more businesses out in the outlying

areas which, of course, Internet service today – I know for the farmers in our

area, farmers in the Wooddale area, Internet service is a big, big issue.

They're farmers. They've been in business for 20, 30 years some of them. They

still don't have access to Internet service with regard to ordering product,

finding new ways of enhancing their farms. Even selling their product. I know

they even have a market in there that they can't promote it with regard to

Internet service. That's a big issue, Internet service.

If we're going to go with tourism, especially on the

outlying area – everybody loves the rugged shores, rugged coast and beautiful

beaches, so if there is more tourism activity to be done that's where the

Internet service is certainly going to have to be addressed, again, and put more

emphasis on the outlying areas. That's another big issue in the district, Mr.

Speaker, is tourism.

Crown lands, again, waiting two to five years for Crown

land applications, that is becoming terrible. I hear this not only from the

District of Exploits; I hear it from a lot of districts, from Labrador right on

down to the Avalon Peninsula. Faster application approvals of Crown lands

certainly would enhance the service and revenue for our economy, so we need to

touch more on the Crown land part of it.

Tourism, Mr. Speaker, again, is a big

part in the

district that we could be looking at. I know that a lot of businesses have tried

to start with regard to efficiency units, tour-boat operators and restaurants.

Again, more emphasis can be done in tourism in our area to create more

employment. Tourism could be big employment in our area, Mr. Speaker. Employment

is another area that we have to find, to tap into the Exploits District because

we need employment.

In order to keep our province going, we need to find a

way to create jobs, to create industry and to create employment to keep people

in our areas. That's how we're going to keep our schools, that's how we're going

to keep our hospitals and that's how we're going to keep our roads: by people

being employed and the money rotating back through taxes and that sort of thing.

Mr. Speaker, we have to find ways of doing that in the Exploits District.

Forestry is another big industry in the district, Mr.

Speaker, that I hear every day with regard to we have no secondary processing

manufacturer in the Exploits District, in the Central region. I did mention this

to the minister the other day with regard to the forestry industry and that we

need to find something directly in the industry. Right now with the price of

lumber, Mr. Speaker, a lot of people are enraged that they're paying the price

of lumber. We have our own resources right here in our own backyard, and people

have to go to the store and pay $12 or $13 just for a two-by-four. To know that

we can't get an industry right in the Exploits District, right in Central

Newfoundland, to compensate for some of that cost of the lumber.

With most of our lumber, with the prices, because you

can't get any lumber in Ontario; they can't get any lumber in Quebec, so all of

our lumber, with regard to supply and demand, it's being shipped out of our

province. Taking our resource and gone right out of our province and they're

making bigger dollars. We only have so much supply, so how much more demand can

we absorb? We're going to have to soon monitor the supply and demand on our

forest products.

Mining, Mr. Speaker, I know mining is a big issue. Lots

of minerals in our area that could be tapped into. I know Marathon Gold is being

set up in 2023. We are looking at upwards of 400 jobs being created by Marathon

Gold, which is great to see, Mr. Speaker.

If we could get something on the mining, if we could

get forestry, even the fishery – Leading Tickles, on the outlying part of our

district, is a big fishing community. There are a lot of fishermen out there. If

we could get something, probably even the seal fishery, hopefully something

comes available for that.

If we could get the farming, if we could get the

fishery, if we could get the forestry and we could get the mining and oil and

gas. Imagine if we could only get that all working the one time in this

province. The royalties and the jobs that we would have here in this province

would be numerous. It would be a great place to live and our services would be

second to none. Our roads would be looked after on a regular basis; health care

would be put back; doctors should be coming to this province and be able to stay

here.

Mr. Speaker, those are some of the issues that I have

been hearing in my district – not only in my district; I have been hearing them

all across this province.

I know that health care is huge in our district, Mr.

Speaker. We need some emphasis certainly put on the health care to alleviate –

we have a lot of issues in our district that need some attention. Hopefully,

I'll get a chance again in the next few days to talk about the district.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I'll wait for another time.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for St. John's Centre.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

or novelettes that I taught was Animal

Farm . If you remember – those of

you who've read it – Napoleon, the pig, always blamed Snowball for everything

that went wrong. Whether it was the windmill falling, food shortages, invasion

by the farmers, you name it, Snowball was the scapegoat; usually to redirect the

people's attention or the pig's attention away from his own failings and to keep

them under control.

HON. MEMBER:

Where's this going?

DINN:

Simple, where is this going? Good question.

Muskrat Falls is the Snowball of the House of Assembly.

I'm at the stage since I've come here from the get-go, if we can't get a program

off the ground, it's Muskrat Falls. If we don't have money, it's Muskrat Falls.

If the weather changes, it's Muskrat Falls.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

DINN:

it's this and that, it's Muskrat Falls every bloody time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

DINN:

Now, I haven't had the advantage of being part of that decision or not, but I

can tell you snowball has got to go: Muskrat Falls has got to go.

HON. MEMBER:

We're trying.

DINN:

Listen, try harder.

I'll tell you right now –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

DINN:

I'll tell you right now, rather than relying on –

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Rather than relying on the blame game here of your own

shortcomings, deal with it and move on.

Seriously, I was elected in 2019, it's 2021 and two

years straight it's still going on. Somewhere along the line, please, we've got

problems, let's deal with them. We all know it's Muskrat Falls. I don't need to

be reminded of it.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Oh,

oh!

SPEAKER:

Order, please!

DINN:

just need, Mr. Speaker, to make sure that we have problems, let's deal with it.

I don't need to know what the reason is.

So here we go, Muskrat Falls snowball is in the House

again. I've been asking a few questions and here's the other issue that I've

been asking questions on – and I got my answer to them, which is what I wanted –

it has to do with privatization. Basically, that in a privatized system

government has no control. Government is powerless to act to protect the

citizens of this province. We have to be careful about heading down this road.

We have to be careful about: we'll get more requests to interfere. We have to

let the process take its course.

Cold comfort, Mr. Speaker, to seniors who are on fixed

incomes; who are trying to put food on the table; keep the house heated in the

wintertime; who are probably trying to get their houses upgraded and more energy

efficient; to young people and young families who are trying to make up their

mind whether they're going to stay here or not; to immigrants who are coming

here to this province – and we're hoping that what we're going to do is to

retain them.

Now, from the Estimates Committee meeting this morning,

Nova Scotia is actually retaining 62 per cent of its immigrants. Newfoundland

next, 11 points behind that, at 51 per cent. We know that they're going to face

increased costs for tuition and increased costs in other ways. People are

watching prices increase and with every day it eats away at their disposable

income for the treats, I guess, and for their necessities of life.

Again, I go back, Mr. Speaker, we bring up the question

sometimes of a $15 minimum wage and we'll hear how difficult and how expensive

it will make lives for people here now, people won't be able to afford it. Yet,

look around. I went out and bought a piece of two-by-four by eight and a piece

of two-by-two by eight and that's $16 for those two miserable pieces of lumber.

So to anyone who needs to do repairs – major repairs – it's going to represent a

significant increase.

My daughter is moving away for the next two years.

She's completing a fellowship in Calgary. I'm really hoping that she's going to

be able to come back here; she's doing pediatrics. I don't know if there will be

that employment back here, but that's the reality to, not only my family but to

many families who are living it today. I've listened to some Members on this

side who have worked in the oil field, who have been away most of their lives.

Here's my issue with privatization: It's interesting,

because if we're going to head down that path or to some sort of a

public-private partnership, I think we need to be aware of the consequences that

we surrender, as a government, control and we surrender our ability to protect

the taxpayers.

It's interesting, if you look at some of the studies of

The Sentencing Project, the United States actually moved towards privatizing its

prisons. Actually, it has the world's largest private prison population. “From

2000 to 2016 the number of people housed in private prisons increased five times

faster than the total prison population.” Yet, there are already states

realizing this is not going to work and they are eliminating the use of private

prisons. Why? Due to concerns about safety and cost-cutting, because ultimately

the main objective of any private, for-profit organization is profit.

Nothing wrong with that, but when you're talking about

a core service, a core public good, it's the government's duty to protect its

citizens, the needs of its citizens and the people which it serves, whether

they're in prison or not.

A few weeks ago I was listening to CBC. Just Right

cereal: Now, you probably won't be able to find that on your supermarket shelves

anymore. Eliminated not because of, necessarily, the lack of demand or anything

like that, but it's just not making enough money, not making enough profit. It's

still making a profit, but not quite enough. There are other, more sugary

cereals that are doing that.

Shoppers Drug Mart recently installed self-checkouts,

owned by Loblaws. This is on a recent CBC

News item: “During a November 2020 Loblaws earnings call, the company

pinpointed self-checkouts as one of its 'efficiency initiatives' ….” I love the

term of what I call weasel words: efficiency initiatives. In other words, we

don't need a person to work here anymore.

They “said it has helped the retail giant cut operating

costs.” Now, this time it had to do with the fact that some Shoppers Drug Mart

customers were being pushed to use self-serve checkouts. The bottom line was the

most important.

Air Canada is another one. A rescue package from the

federal government of $5.98 billion, $5.9 billion and yet they still gave $10

million in bonuses to their top executives for their exceptional performance

during COVID-19. Now, do you think they were thinking about their customers,

about the people who fly on the plane as their customers? I don't know. They

laid off 20,000 workers. That's obviously the exceptional performance. They held

customer refunds until they got a bailout. Doesn't sound like they were thinking

about the customer or the taxpayer in that case. They also took $656 million

from public money from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program, more than any

other company in Canada. The bottom line is profit.

In Nova Scotia, I don't know if any of you have driven

it, but I'm sure you've gone through the Cobequid Pass Toll highway; a beautiful

drive. You don't have to face a whole lot in terms of traffic. It's well kept.

It's a P3 initiative and it cost $232 million more to build, finance and

maintain than a publicly built project; $102 million additional financing costs;

an extra $121 million operations and another extra $9 million in maintenance.

Costs should have been around $124.6 million.

Here's the thing, the government can't even pay down

the outstanding debt without penalties. The interesting part about this is that

the maintenance of the highway is actually subcontracted back to – wait for it –

the province for snow clearing and everything else. It's also excluded from the

Public Utilities Act ; therefore, rate

changes are not subject to review by the Utility and Review Board.

Even here within this House of Assembly – not in this

House, but in this building – I was told that the cleaning staff who clean our

offices, and do a remarkable job, are privately contracted. I would say that

their wages and their benefits are just a shadow of public servants everywhere.

So we privatize, we downsize salaries and people, the workers, are seen as costs

to be controlled and cut.

Then, my main question with regard to Newfoundland

Power – and this was where I was going – there is no control. We can't

interfere; we're powerless to do anything. There's a process in place. That's

what we hear; we have to be careful about going down that road. But in the end

what it's going to mean is that if the rate is approved, someone – and by

someone I mean my mother, the seniors in my district, those who are already

struggling to make ends meet; the person who lives off $40 a week after paying

all of his bills and who is on income support, you name it; the students who are

attending our university – will have to decide: Well, will I use the food bank

this week?

The businesses, the small mom-and-pop shops, the

supermarkets who are going to rely on the power – but guess where that increase

is going to be put? It's going to be put back into the food prices and back on

the seniors, the students and the people with limited resources. That's who is

going –

LANE:

Don't forget the municipalities.

DINN:

The

municipalities – that's where it's going to go. It's going to come back to the

individual.

I understand the need for efficiencies, but if indeed

we're looking at some sort of a joint partnership and if it's about the bottom

line, let's talk about it in terms of the human cost to the people who are

already struggling within our province and who are probably at the stage where

they don't have the ability to pick up and move. It will be the ones who can

afford to pick up and move who will pick up and move, but for many people here

they're going to be stuck paying the extra and trying to make it work. They will

be the ones calling our offices and wondering how are they going to pay the

light bill.

I don't know how many light bills we used to pay when I

was with St. Vincent de Paul. A $1,000 light bill and I would say: How in the

name of God do you get to a $1,000 light bill? But, of course, if you're

struggling in the winter months, well, I have to put food on the table or

something like that, something has to be cut, and I'm going to cut paying the

bill. That's the struggle. That's the real struggle. Yes, it might cost us a

little bit more to keep it cool in the summertime and warm in the wintertime,

but in the end we're not going to be the ones that are going to be truly paying

the price.

So, Mr. Speaker, when I'm looking at this budget – and

I've listened to questions from this side of the House and, basically – the

questions I hear are looking for some clarity as to where we are going. I think

those are reasonable questions and deserve to be answered in a reasonable way.

They're not my questions, but they're questions that I have an interest in

hearing. Actually, they're questions that many of the people in my district have

an interest in hearing.

The gentleman I told you about a little at the

beginning of this last week, who basically is wondering if he'll be able to live

in his own home, he has $16,000 to live on right now; proud of the fact that he

paid off his home, a very modest home. We're not talking a mansion, a

4,000-square-foot house; we're talking about the centre city here.

His one pleasure is to go out for a day trouting. He

has to wonder if at this point can he stay in his own home, or will he have to

look at moving into some sort of a retirement home where, guess what, it's going

to fall on our backs. He is going to be one more dependent individual who, up

until this point, has been very proud of his independence.

If we are indeed looking at some sort of a joint

partnership, if indeed we're looking at privatizing core government services, I

think we need to have a full – to be very careful about this to have short-term

financial gain and long-term systemic and societal pain for a lot of the people

we serve.

We're a privileged lot in this building right here,

very much so. I think we need to keep in mind that there are a lot of people out

there in our districts who are struggling and who don't come from that

background of privilege.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your time and I

leave it at that.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Torngat Mountains.

EVANS:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I just want to speak on the Budget Speech again. In the

speech, there is a

section there that covers seniors and the quote: “Our

government is unwavering in its commitment to supporting seniors and ensuring

all citizens remain healthy, active and engaged.” The budget has $300,000 to

increase healthy, inclusive communities; $95,000 to make communities more

inclusive; $300,000 for SeniorsNL to support seniors; $200,000 for the Seniors'

Social Inclusion Initiative.

These are all very, very important programs. Just

looking at the words in this budget: “increase healthy, inclusive communities,”

“support seniors.” For me, these programs are wonderful, wonderful, but in my

district, they're a luxury. When I looked up the definition of luxury: the state

of great comfort and extravagant living. No offence, Mr. Speaker, but in my

district a lot of my seniors struggle. Not because they weren't active and

worked jobs when they were younger. Now they're in retirement and they struggle

because of the gaps in infrastructure and the gaps in services. Our seniors

struggle with basic living: food, shelter, a warm place – or should I say, a

place that they can keep warm.

I was talking to several people yesterday. Two were

elders that worked with Labrador Inuit Association back in the day and another

person is working now with Nunatsiavut Government and worked with LIA back in

the day. We were talking about gaps in infrastructure and when did this start. I

was saying it started since the Joey days. All three of them – separate

conversations – brought up the Native Peoples agreement. That's where federal

dollars came in to help the Innu and the Inuit of Labrador with their

infrastructure. That was administered by the province. All three of them talked

about basically failings for monies to go to help the Indigenous people it was

earmarked for. That sort of continued on up the line with the districts as well.

Like, I know when I present the petition for increasing

the life block, electricity rates – the petition that I present over and over

again – and I get beat up on it. They bring up Muskrat Falls. Too bad the Member

for the Third Party is not here, because he would appreciate that. But do you

want to know something? It's really difficult. When I talk about that petition

for electricity rates, what I'm talking about is the ability for our seniors to

be able to have a warm place in the middle of the winter.

It's very important for our seniors, because they

either have to pay for stove oil – and in my petition, I talked about an elder

who is a widower and basically in the winter spends her entire pension on stove

oil so she can heat her house. When I talked to her about it, it was the

struggle. She had people there that could cut and haul wood, even though it was

very difficult, but she still struggled with the ability to bring it in. A lot

of times it's not reliable, so she said for her, just to have sound mind, she

pays her pension towards her stove oil. She's very, very lucky because her

family members help her with the other basic living costs that she encounters.

I was talking to a very strong, respected man – well,

actually I was talking to his wife. He's basically a bit of a legend. I have

great respect for him. She was telling me, she said: Lela, now for him when he

needs to haul the wood –especially the wood for next fall; you have to haul a

lot of wood – he'll leave the house at 4 o'clock in the morning because it's a

long way to go. It's a great distance. He doesn't want to be coming back after

dark with a load of wood. Because, of course, when you get older, you have

problems seeing at night.

That's something that people don't normally take into

consideration. For most Newfoundlanders and Labradorians when they talk about

night driving, they talk about getting in the car at night and you're worried

because of the lights and all the interference. But for our senior, it's about

the ability to safely bring a load of wood back to their house after it gets

dark. Up there, it's not daylight until 8 o'clock and then it gets darks around

quarter after 3, so the rush is on to get wood.

That's important. Like I say, it's not about comfort,

but it's just about quality of life for people. It's very, very important.

Moving on, I just want to talk a little bit about the

freight boat again. We call it the freight boat. When that boat was taken off

the run that brought food and building materials and household goods up to the

North Coast it kept the costs down. That was taken off without any consultation

with Nunatsiavut. It was taken off and we were basically told that we could buy

goods from Quebec. Just go to Quebec and buy the goods. Now when we look at the

cost of food, it's really impacting our seniors. I'm still on the topic of

seniors, regarding our Budget Speech.

When you're trying to heat your house and you're trying

to feed yourself, what does that do? When you don't have enough money, it makes

you very vulnerable. As a First World nation, as a province, we want to make

sure our seniors are not vulnerable, that they're safe and they have confidence

in the ability to manage their lives. But really what's happening in my district

is a lot of times elders are vulnerable. They're in living situations where they

have no control of. A lot times they even lose control of their money because

they're staying with somebody else.

A lot of times they're living in a house just because

there's a man in the house that can haul wood, chop it up and bring it into the

house. With that goes their freedom to make choices, their freedom on how they

spend their money, even their freedom to access their money. That's when our

seniors are really vulnerable, Mr. Speaker. Quality of life is very, very

important for us.

I remember when I was campaigning. The reason why I was

campaigning is because they took away the freight boat. That's the real reason

why I ran to be an MHA. I remember I was in Nain. I was in a house. I was

talking to a senior. I was sitting on the floor next to her on the couch. There

was a lot of space on the floor. I was just being polite, sitting there on the

floor the way that I usually do. She said to me that she was really hopeful this

summer because they were going to hire more workers at the fish plant. I told

some of my co-workers this story. I'm sitting on the floor on my knees and when

she said that I actually jumped up and sat next to her on the couch. I was just

going to put my arm around her. I realized, well, I can't be doing that. She

didn't really even know me.

The reason for that response, Mr. Speaker, was because

I wanted to protect her. I picture this older lady now, really hopeful that

she's going to get a job in the fish plant so she can earn some money. That's

the situation that never should exist. Our seniors, our older people, they

should be able to live in comfort.

This wasn't a person that was spending her money on

addictions and gambling and smoking and drinking and all the stuff that we get

blamed for – our mismanagement of our money. It's basically somebody on a small

pension and really having trouble heating their house and buying food and being

able to actually have quality of life. That's very, very important.

Just going on to economic development. I'm just trying

to get through my things that I wanted to talk about. When we talk about

economic development and sustainability and the environment – everything is

about the environment, improving the environment now and protecting the

environment. One of the things that we really should be focusing on is our

fishery for our future. Because a lot of times it's overlooked, it's forgotten,

it's shoved back into the dark closet because a lot of times just our history of

being ashamed of our fisherpeople because it was considered labour, a type of

labour.

The thing is, when you look at the fishery, it's

sustainable, it's renewable and it has low impact on the environment. We need to

make sure that we're not losing focus on that. Also, the healthy food that comes

from the ocean is very important for us.

Just looking at mining: projecting over $9 billion in

mineral shipments. We were looking at projecting $4 billion in mineral shipments

from the province. That's a huge contribution to the province for royalties. It

would be really nice if we put up a map and stuck pincushions on there –

colour-coded ones – and showed where the value of the mineral shipments was

coming from. When you look at that map and the mineral shipments that are coming

from Labrador, I think you would see the true value that Labrador contributes to

the coffers of this province.

It's much greater than four seats out of 40, because I

think that's really what contributed to our problem as well. Really, when you

look at four seats out of 40, Labradorians don't have much of a voice. When you

look at the hydroelectricity, even though Joey gave it away, but if you look at

the Voisey's Bay nickel, copper and cobalt; if you look at the iron ore that

comes out of Lab West, the thing is the economic benefit to this province has

been great over the years since we joined Confederation – truly, truly great.

When I look at my district, very little provincial

dollars have actually gone into my district. The provincial dollars that have

gone into my district have been administered by the province but they come from

the federal government. Even then, I don't think we got our fair share.

Moving on to Connectivity: $25 million is allocated

over the next three years to improve cellular service and broadband service. I'd

like to see how much the provincial government has spent on broadband service in

my district. I also would like to see how much actually the provincial

government has spent on cellular service for Labrador, and how much they spent

in my district, because the dollar value would be zero, even though Nain has

partial cellphone service.

That's something that somebody should actually go in

and do a little bit of research on. How much money has been spent in my district

for cellphone service and broadband service? Because I remember just after I got

elected and I was on a teleconference with the MP for Labrador and Bell Aliant,

what was said to me was that there are monies out there, pots of money and Bell

Aliant was accessing them. It was cost-shared, the province didn't have to put

up any money; Bell Aliant had to put a small percentage of money and the rest

was going to be federal dollars.

Looking at it, all of Labrador got upgrades; all of

Labrador got upgrades except the North Coast. I wanted to know why. I was told

on the call it is because the infrastructure of the Internet, broadband on the

North Coast was really too outdated and it would cost too much to bring it up,

to upgrade it. This was actually money spent to upgrade broadband in Labrador.

My district was so outdated they weren't going to spend any money to upgrade it.

What it did is it pushed it back. That's why in Hopedale, that's why in Rigolet,

that's why in Nain and in Makkovik a lot of times when Bell Aliant comes into my

community to do repairs – I get the call, I get the call all the time, and don't

stop calling me because it's the only way you're going to get any repairs – a

lot of times at the root of it is the infrastructure is too outdated.

Even though the technician is there to do the repairs

and bring it up so that you can have access to high-speed Internet, you still

don't have high-speed Internet after he's gone. You lose it.

The gap and (inaudible) – I can't even speak, I'm so –

I try not to get upset. The gap increases – widens – that's the word I was

looking for. You want to talk about issues and problems when we have that huge

gap in infrastructure and services, we just have to look at COVID.

I was in Rigolet trying to be on – I like saying that

because it sounds funny – trying to be on the Zoom, taking 10 minutes to load. I

was actually at the Inuit Community Government office. That's like municipal

governments, the mayors – I wonder how they do their work in the middle of the

day. The AngajukKâk in Makkovik was telling me how long it takes, sometimes a

PDF, a single PDF to open – the gap is there.

When you talk about the Budget Speech and connectivity,

that's not including my district. If we're going to get cellphone service and if

we're going to get real high-speed Internet, it's going to come from the federal

government.

I was talking with is NG, the Nunatsiavut Government,

they are basically just bypassing the province now trying to access the federal

dollars so they can actually have improvements in those gaps for services and

infrastructure. That money that was supposed to be given to us since the Joey

days; at least now we have self-government and Nunatsiavut is trying to take

control of that. I also see it with the Innu; it's very, very important. Nobody

tells the Innu what to do anymore. Nothing maybe done, but no one is telling the

Innu what to do anymore.

Anyway, I have less than four minutes.

For me it is really, really difficult sometimes to talk

about these things. It has been in the news, residential schools have been

brought up again, the history of residential schools. We had the tragedy – it

wasn't a current tragedy but we had the discovery of the 215 graves of young

children who were in residential schools who passed away. It wasn't uncovered

until recently, a lot of parents didn't have closure as to what happened to

their children.

The harm has really been documented over residential

schools, but what people tend to forget when it is not in the news is the

intergenerational trauma. The harm is being documented now – I've got a book

here that is basically on residential schools:

A Long Journey it is called by Andrea Procter. She went around and

interviewed people from residential schools, and it is emotional to talk about.

What's in this book is not the true accounting: it is a start but really a lot

of the things were too difficult to talk about.

I think it is a good read for everybody. When you go

into page 83, there is a

section here about vulnerable children in boarding

school – we called it boarding school, residential schools – and they basically

went to school when they were five, they left in the fall and never came back

until next summer. They didn't have any parental protection, anyone to talk to

or a sense of family.

“I went to school when I was seven because it was

Confederation then, if you didn't go to school you didn't get your family

allowance ….” That's blackmail. That's why parents continued to send their kids

to school. “The fear of reprisal meant that children at boarding school rarely

had anyone they could turn to for help. Ruth also suffered a traumatic sexual

assault that she kept secret for years before she felt ready to seek help. 'I

have dealt with it, and I have gone past it. No one should have to go through

that. You shouldn't have to be thinking about things like that.'”

I read this paragraph last year for the first time.

That was my aunt. I knew nothing about it. She was one of the strong people that

actually spoke out. She received the Order of Canada for her work to ensure

women were protected. She fought for RCMP presence in Makkovik. She fought for

having shelters. We call them safe houses for women.

The thing about it is, I'm the MHA for Torngat

Mountains. Randy Edmunds was the MHA for Torngat Mountains. Wally Andersen was

the MHA for Torngat Mountains, my uncle. Randy is my cousin. We came from a

family where our grandmother was widowed at a very young age and she actually

needed that family allowance to raise her children. They went to residential

school. If they didn't, there would have been no monies coming in.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER (Warr):

The

hon. the Member for Lake Melville.

TRIMPER:

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

As my colleague from Torngat Mountains just indicated

in her very powerful remarks, it's a very difficult time in Labrador right now.

I believe we've had four people take their life since last Monday. Most of these

people I knew. I suspect that she also knew them as well.

It just brings very close to home how everyone is

feeling. I'm trying to find the right word to describe what is happening in

Kamloops. While it's described in the news as “news,” for certainly survivors,

for their families, for the victims, for anyone who has been around, anyone who

has talked about the residential school system, it shouldn't be news.

I started working in Labrador in '87. I can remember

working with the Labrador Inuit Association in the late '80s and listening to

people talk about how they were taken away from their parents, their families,

everything they knew at such a young age. For some, it wasn't so difficult as

what my colleague just read about, but for all of them there was the trauma of

being separated from their family.

Sunday morning I had the honour of being on a stage

with Dr. Jean Crane, who is also a survivor. She is 92 years of age. I call her

a very dear friend of mine. We led a very powerful session with many people in

Happy Valley-Goose Bay who are just dealing with this problem and trying to find

a way forward.

Saturday morning I was with my colleague from

Cartwright - L'Anse au Clair – with the minister – and we were at the site of

the new mental health wing. Oh my goodness, thank goodness that we're finally

reaching out to other parts of the province. While it's been definitely

something long overdue which is replacing the Waterford, we also need to find

ways to reach out to other parts of the province. I'm very proud to see this

mental health wing now under construction. We met with the contractor and it's

really important to see that. Unfortunately, it's not coming quick enough and

fast enough. Even if these services and supports are there, I'm not so naive to

think that it will solve all of our problems. But we certainly are working hard

at it.

Also, last night I had a call with some colleagues of

one of the gentlemen who took their life just very recently. They reached out to

me wanting to see what they could do. This was organized labour. It was a union

just struggling to try to comprehend. I think most of this room – no, I know all

of us in this room, if we could figure out a way to just write a cheque and

totally address the issue that is the mental health crisis in our province, we

would all do it. We would all stand in full support. It's complicated. As we're

learning about the residential school system, colonialism and so many other

challenges of the past, this is multi-generational and it's going to take a

while for us to get through it.

As part of my role in wanting to make sure as an

independent Member representing Lake Melville I've been reaching out to

different people in the district. I must say I am so proud to live where I do

and represent the people that I do. I thank them for some of the contribution.

What I'm going to do is, over the next few minutes, I

want to speak to some recommendations that I've received from a couple of

different sources. I'm going to be picking from different comments. This is all

around Indigenous persons and the justice system. For the benefit of the

Minister of Justice and Public Safety, I will try to put this in a letter and

I'll send that on to him on behalf of these constituents who've sent this to me.

I'd like to use my time here today just to talk about some observations, some

feelings that I'm feeling from the community around the justice system and the

Indigenous residents of my district and across Labrador and across this

province.

Some of the thoughts: We do have a large number of

Indigenous persons who have been charged, convicted, imprisoned or are on parole

or probation in Labrador. The numbers unfortunately seem to be increasing as

each year passes. It is an absolute must to ensure that we put a large priority

on community safety, rehabilitation and reintegration. It certainly cannot

happen without accessing culturally appropriate, ethical, easy-to-understand and

long-term programming with quality aftercare programming and supports. No more

quick-fix programs. They do not work.

Historically, Labrador Aboriginal Legal Services

operated a broad range of in-house programming at the Labrador Correctional

Centre, with funding from the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. Unfortunately, this

funding ceased many years ago. It's advocated by those who've reached out to me

that this model does need to be revisited, modernized and accessible.

I have to say, over my time serving as the MHA for Lake

Melville, I've had the occasion to visit the Labrador Correctional Centre,

particularly around what's coming up now with National Indigenous Peoples Day in

this country on the 21st of June and being able to see some of these cultural

programs and see people teaching skills that frankly descend from their culture

that they never even had an opportunity to ever witness before.

I can recall one woman cleaning a ptarmigan – we call

them partridge – and the large crowd around this small, diminutive woman and the

feedback and the interaction she had with people who are really trying to find

their way. It's messages like that that will really help prepare for their

reintegration into society.

The next item I have here, it's a very controversial

one. I'll put it out there. I think whatever we do, we have to think about it.

Certainly, some people come to me and say we need to stop any kind of

faith-based programming. It's suggested that if an inmate wants counselling or

their services, they really should be asking for it. I guess it's the perception

of some advocates that they're seeing the churches showing up and perhaps

pushing a message. The leaders that I see in different organizations in

Labrador, I have such respect and appreciate, but I also can appreciate the

sensitivity. I think it's just one that we need to move carefully on.

Clearly, the efforts of the prime minister and others

right now around the residential school system and what this country is

struggling with and looking to church leadership for an admission as to the

wrongs of the past, I think, are complicating this, so it just needs careful

thought.

The next item that I have here is more cultural

programs, such as a session that's called my respect program, which is a

combination of storytelling, focused and facilitator-led discussion on respect

for the land, sustainable harvesting and gathering, nourishment and traditional

food and bonding with their children and partners. That's all to prepare them

upon release, but they are engaging in this while they're doing their sentences.

Certain crafts, just like making snowshoes, is a very

proud – it is amazingly skillful. Amazing skills are required to produce a

high-quality set of snowshoes; something we use a lot of. That, along with other

traditional crafts, can really draw out and support a sense of value, a sense of

purpose, a sense of past and a sense of going forward.

Holding focus groups and asking inmates about the

programs they would like to have to participate in – what is it they would be

interested in; how do they feel they could be better prepared – and then working

out and doing this in co-operation with community agencies, certainly, you can

have a session of best community practices that we've seen elsewhere across the

North, perhaps to learn a little bit about it. None of these are perhaps new

ideas. I just wanted to take this occasion this week because, frankly, I've been

exposed to and/or seen some of this referenced, even the other day with the

minister and during the Estimates with his team. There's no question there is a

lot of expertise and experience there.

This next item, I want to present it with two themes

because I feel I need to. As an MHA, I've certainly been reaching out to the

Department of Justice and Public Safety on the issue around incarceration of

women from Labrador. There's been no option to accommodate women from Labrador

except to send them to Clarenville. This has caused additional issues: separated

from your land, from your family and from your culture. Out in Clarenville – I

said the other day it's an 18-hour drive here to St. John's, so it is probably

about 16½, 17 hours to get to Clarenville; it's a long ways away. For people

separated from their families and, again, trying to find that mental support

that their family could provide, that the area could provide, it's a long ways

away.

I so thank the government for stepping forward with

this $6.1-million announcement to developing accommodations for women in

Labrador at the Labrador Correctional Centre, but as I emphasized the other day

in my remarks at the Estimates, we could also use all those supports –

counselling – some of the items that I've mentioned here. There's also a fair

bit of interest in establishing a Labrador

chapter of the Elizabeth Fry Society.

It's a counterpart to the John Howard Society. Many people feel that kind of

advocacy, that kind of support and the experience that we could all benefit from

would be very beneficial for our situation.

The contradiction I have is that while I feel it's

important to have this facility built, there are many that are saying we should

take the $6.1 million and just use it for counselling and support. I think over

the long term it would be remarkable to get there. That's where we need to be.

We need to catch people who are crying for help and support them before they get

tangled up in a situation where, unfortunately, incarceration is the next step.

I understand both opinions here. I think one is short term, the need for the

development of accommodations at the Labrador Correctional Centre, but over the

long term I think this is the goal we need to get to, where that counselling can

be available.

Certainly, these deep roots of trauma will be

continued; we are struggling in Happy Valley-Goose Bay today. I have had several

messages from residents who are very frustrated with just a very high number of

individuals that are battling addictions. We have a variety of services

available. Unfortunately, it's a huge challenge for us. I thank the various

departments – and I've mentioned this and several of them. There is a Senior

Officials Working Group. I do know the deputy minister for Labrador Affairs is

staying up at night trying to figure this out, along with other key departments

and their deputies. We have a very high level of attention on this very

challenging situation.

I can only offer to the community that is very

frustrated, that there are a lot of people working on it; there are a lot of

steps being made. Again, I wish it were a very simple matter of just throwing

money at something, because I can tell you the will would be there to do that,

but it's not necessarily going to solve the challenges we have.

The reference to me was the different organizations

that are in place – Charles J. Andrew Youth Treatment Centre. It's a remarkable

strategy that's been operating in Sheshatshiu for many years; a very effective

way to work with youth and sort of embracing with families, as they both work

together to help troubled young members of our society move on and lead

productive lives.

Certainly, there is no question early intervention

strategies to support youth who are struggling and involved with the justice

system is absolutely a priority. I do believe it is a priority; it's definitely

when we need to pay as much attention on as possible. These are just some ideas

around a wish list, Mr. Speaker. I think I will compile this in a note and I'll

send it off to the minister just for his record.

Hansard is a great thing but I feel it will be important to put that

in a letter and let people know in Lake Melville that their messages are being

heard.

I wanted to pick up a little bit on my colleague from

Torngat Mountains and switch gears a little bit. I'm always marking time and

I've been fortunate to live in Labrador now – I'm on 34 years. I've seen a lot

of good ideas come, sometimes go, sometimes come back again into the everyday

conversation. I go back to 1995; there was a proponent, Gerry Germain, who was

looking to establish the Kamistasin hydro project. This was just at the time

when the Voisey's Bay project was coming on in 1995.

He saw a way to develop a hydro project that could feed

energy, feed electricity into Nain – Davis Inlet at the time, because it wasn't

Natuashish; the community had not been moved – and the developing and exciting

project of Voisey's Bay. I just would like to go back and, really, I don't know,

myself and many others were advocating for such an opportunity. We saw ways for

both Innu Nation and for the LIA at the time to become involved in a great

project and just where we could be had we moved on that project.

Speaking of relocations in time and so on, back to

mental health. We were looking at, in 1994, working with the Mushuau Innu

Renewal Committee on relocating Davis Inlet. The idea was to take a substantial

amount of money from the federal and provincial government to relocate Davis

Inlet off a very difficult and challenging place to Natuashish. There was also a

very substantial amount of money that was dedicated to what was called a program

of healing measures. It was going to be put in place; there were supposed to be

two parallel processes that would allow for hammers and nails, but also for

counselling and support.

I think back now, that's 26 years ago. If we had only

been as effective and successful at the healing measures as we had been at

building the community, what we could have done. Certainly, a lot of good work

has gone on, but there's just so much and, again, so many of these issues are so

complicated.

I think with that, Mr. Speaker, I'll thank this House

of Assembly for listening; I'll thank everyone for their time. I very much

appreciate the opportunity to speak here today.

SOME HON. MEMBERS:

Hear, hear!

SPEAKER:

The

hon. the Member for Topsail - Paradise.

DINN:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It's always an honour to speak in this House.

I would be remiss if I didn't officially or formally

send my thoughts and prayers out to the Muslim family in London, Ontario, who

were killed, and one son remains in critical condition.

As well, we had the accident in Hopedale, where a young

man was killed in an ATV accident. Of course, the Member for Lake Melville spoke

to some suicides this last little while, which speaks to what we need to be

doing in terms of mental health. Of course, today we had our seventh death due

to COVID. I send my prayers and thoughts out to all those families, all losing

loved ones for different reasons, I guess, or through different means, but all

dealing with the same issue of loved ones no